The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a family of surveys intended to provide nationally representative estimates of health expenditure, utilization, payment sources, health status, and health insurance coverage among the noninstitutionalized, nonmilitary population of the United States. This series of government-produced data sets can be used to examine how individuals interact with the medical care system in the United States. MEPS is administered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in three components: the core Household Component, the Insurance/Employer Component, and the Medical Provider Component. Only the Household Component is available for download on the Internet. These components provide comprehensive national estimates of health care use and payment by individuals, families, and any other demographic group of interest. History MEPS was modeled after the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) and the National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey (NMCUES), which were conducted in 1977 (NMES-1), 1980 (NMCUES), and 1987 (NMES-2). Each of these surveys was tasked with providing data on a representative sample of Americans' interaction with the medical care system. Although the NMES and NMCUES were sampled independently from the U.S. population, each new MEPS sample is drawn from the outgoing National Health Interview Survey panel. MEPS is generally considered the direct descendant of these surveys, and prestigious peer-reviewed journals commonly publish articles that examine trends calculated between MEPS and its predecessors. Research topics The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey can be used for a wide range of topics related to the U.S. healthcare system, including Access to Care, Children's Health, Chronic Conditions, Health Insurance, Health Disparities, Women's Health, Prescription Drugs, Individuals with Disabilities, and the Elderly. AHRQ continually produces chartbooks, statistical briefs, and fact sheets using MEPS data which shed light on these various facets of how the American healthcare system functions, what patients experience, how they behave, and who pays for the cost of care. Data accessibility The MEPSnet Query Tools interactive table builder allows non-statisticians to select a data year and medical variable(s) of interest, and produce descriptive statistics and crosstabulations of Household Component and Insurance Component data from the AHRQ website. Data available The current publicly available Medical Expenditure Panel Survey – Household Component data set consists of six files which describe the demographics and characteristics of the survey population and eight event-level files which capture all interactions with the U.S. medical system. Household Component Full-Year Files The six full-year files include: The